Joint press release by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the German Academic Exchange Service and the German Research Foundation

Germany woos young academics working in North America

Bonn/San Francisco 11 August 2017. Germany’s academic system offers good career prospects for young academics who are currently working abroad in the US and Canada. The 17th annual meeting of the German Academic International Network (GAIN) will be held in San Francisco on 25–27 August 2017. At the event, more than 300 researchers from all disciplines will have the chance to network with around 150 high-ranking German representatives from academia, politics and industry and establish contacts for their future careers. The GAIN annual conference is the largest event outside Europe for academic careers in Germany.

The 2017 meeting will focus on recent developments in academic policy in Germany, particularly the Excellence Strategy, the Higher Education Pact and the Tenure Track Programme. A further subject for discussion will be the global political situation, in which populist and anti-science trends are becoming more prevalent.

The GAIN annual conference is jointly organised by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (AvH), the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the German Research Foundation (DFG). Universities, non-university research institutions, businesses and advisory services will be represented at the event’s 70 stands, where they will showcase Germany’s strengths as a research location and advise researchers on returning home. A full programme of workshops and lectures will provide information and discussion on career-related topics and political frameworks. The conference will also include various networking receptions.

The presidents of the organisations responsible for hosting the event – Prof. Margret Wintermantel (DAAD), Prof. Peter Strohschneider (DFG) and Prof. Helmut Schwarz (AvH) – will be joined by two politicians: Cornelia Quennet-Thielen, Secretary of State at the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, and Boris Rhein, Minister of Higher Education, Research and the Arts in Hessen.

About GAIN:

GAIN was established in 2003 as a joint initiative of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (AvH), the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the German Research Foundation (DFG). It is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and works in cooperation with all German research organisations. GAIN’s mission is to help German researchers in the US and Canada build and maintain networks between themselves and with Germany. In order to encourage these researchers to return to Germany, GAIN provides information on the latest developments in Germany and promotes transatlantic collaboration.

More information is available at www.gain-network.org

We will be happy to arrange contact with German postdoctoral researchers in the US and Canada.

Contact:

Dr Gerrit Rößler, GAIN Programme Manager, DAAD Office, New York

Tel.: +1 212 758 3223 ext. 217, email: roessler@daad.org